Trump Gifts Lee Signing Pen After 90-Min G7 Korea Peace Talks
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- Lee Jae Myung held a 90-minute conversation with Trump during the G7 leaders' dinner in Evian-les-Bains, France, writing on X that they made 'significant progress' on peace on the Korean peninsula and South Korea-U.S. relations.
- Trump handed Lee the pen he had been using to sign summit documents the next day, a gesture Lee said mirrored their first summit, when Trump received a pen Lee had used.
- Trump raised the prospect of playing golf with Lee and first lady Kim Hea Kyung twice — at dinner and again at a subsequent luncheon — with Lee noting the first lady 'sealed the promise by hooking fingers.'
- Lee asked Trump to take the lead in pursuing peaceful resolution of tensions with North Korea while posing for a group photograph, his office said.
- South Korea's Blue House said the leaders also discussed mutually beneficial shipbuilding cooperation and agreed on the importance of trilateral cooperation between South Korea, the United States, and Japan.
- Trump described Lee as a 'strong leader,' per Lee's office — a notable moment given that bilateral ties have been strained over U.S. tariffs and defense cost-sharing in recent years.
Why it matters: Seoul and Washington are close security allies, and Lee's request that Trump take the lead on North Korea peace puts the diplomatic ball in Washington's court. The shipbuilding and trilateral US-South Korea-Japan cooperation mark concrete areas of alignment despite recent friction over U.S. tariffs and defense cost-sharing.
